Courthouse Redevelopment

On Thursday (March 30th) the Lincoln County Commissioners and Lincolnton City Council held a joint meeting to talk about the old Lincoln County courthouse and possibilities for redevelopment of the structure that is the centerpiece of downtown Lincolnton.

While the courthouse belongs to the County, the City Council joined in a study by the University of North Carolina School of Government to consider options for the reuse of the facility.

At Thursday's meeting, representatives from the School of Government and Maurer Architecture, who had been contracted to come up with ideas and to explore the feasibility of possible projects, presented their findings and expounded on four preliminary redevelopment scenarios.

The presentation was based on a Development Finance Initiative. DFI is a School of Govt. program thaat advises communities trying to attract private investment for specialized real estate development.

The County was awarded a $4.5 million grant from the state for repairs and renovations to the courthouse and grounds--but that money can only be used without regard to whomever may eventually become the developer.

DFI studied the existing conditions in downtown Lincolnton and analyzed key market indicators. Their study showed that 42% of downtown square footage is dedicated to tax-exempt property. They found minimal food and beverage opportunities in the downtown area.

DFI projected that the demand for new office space in Lincoln County would be up to 140,000 square feet over the next five years. Even so, office vacancies in downtown Lincolnton are higher than elsewhere in the county--19% compared to 4%. Retail sales in downtown Lincolnton are mostly to people who live outside the city--many of them in other counties. Despite a lower per capita income average compared to other counties, retail sales including food and beverage are slightly higher than expected.

While increased office and retail demand is expected, higher vacancy in downtown suggests that current rents do not justify rehab costs. The four concepts unveiled as possibilities for courthouse renovation are based on the idea that the old courthouse could provide a larger commercial footprint that doesn’t currently exist for
food and beverage or unique office space concepts; but the study also found (no surprise) that the real growth in demand over the next five years will be in multifamily residences--expected to increase by 40% although almost entirely outside the city of Lincolnton.

The four concepts unveiled at the meeting were entitled

• "Dinner & a Show"
• "Show & Tell"
• "Come One, Come All!" and
• "Fueling Creativity."

Not only is the decision still to be made about which--if any--of those concepts is adopted as a working plan, it's also still uncertain whether the County will lease the building to a developer or arrange a public-private agreement that would amount to selling the building but with certain restrictions based on a covenant.

Both Commission chairman Carrol Mitchem and Mayor Ed Hatley have said they believe any development should be self-supporting.